The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-02-08
MEXICO'S WAR STRENGTH.
ABLE TO KEEP A FORCE OF ESQ.,
900 MEN IN THE FIELD.

The Task of Whipping Our Neighbor Re
public a Much More Difficulty One
Than People Appear to suppose-HOw
Her Army Is Organized.
Should the United States be compelled
to whip Mexico into compliance with her
international obligations, we would find
the task much more difficult one than
people appear to suppose. Some OF our
military men and others who may be
looked upon as leaders of public opinion
scorn the idea that the sister republic
could offer any considera bic resistance to
an American armed force, and in support
of their opinions they are fond of repeat
ing the fact that Gen. Scott captured the
City of Mexico with field force of about
1900 men People who think that such
an undertaking could be successfully at
tempted now are quite astray In
their calculations. When the Amer
lean army occupied Mexico it had
only to deal with the thor
oughIy unpopular, corrupt, and tyranni-
cal Dictator General Antonio Lopez de
Santa Anna. So very much Disguised were
the MeXicans with the ruinOus rule of
this despot that the majority of them
looked upon the invading Americans
rather in the light of friends and deliver
ers from bondage than of national enc
mics. This condition is now changed alto
gether. Mexico has fought her way to a
federal constitution She defeated the
French invading army of about 4S, 600
men. She speedily put down the mon
archial conspiracy to establish an empire
within her borders, and has succeeded
wonderfully during the last ten or fifteen
years in consolidating her political insti-
buttons and in organizing a most efficient,
weu-eQuipped army.
Mexico contains at the present time
population Of over 100000. 1t is true
mat Seven-tenths of this population are
composed of d0ciic Indians or half breeds,
but il must not be forgotten that this
same class of people furnishes most ex-
cellent fighting material They can live
on the smell of an oil rag, march almost
incredible distances, suffer all sorts OF
hardships uncomplainingly, and are, as a
general rule, fearless Of death. If Mexico
could apply to her people the same princi-
.'les of military or organization that are ap-
Jlied in Germany. France, and other
european nations, she could place in line
ali army Of not less than 10000 fighting
men. The financial resources of the coun-
Try would not, however, admit
OF the calling to arms of more than
One-half of this number of men at one
time. Thus, while the resisting power of
Mexico might be set down at about 500,-
900 men, to be employed successfully, as
occasion might require, she could hardly
by her create / effort place in campaign
al any one period over 25J,000 soldiers.
During the wars with France and with
MAMMALIAN the government of Juarez
had under arms %, 900 poorly equipped
troops; but this was at a period when the
old Church party had at least 80 900 Mex
lean men under arms in the service of
France and OF The Archduke Macmillan.
This shows that even in those days, when
scarcity of arms, and not a lack of men,
afforded an inadequate measure of Mex
icO's fighting power, she had arrayed I'M
der one or the other of the contending
parties an aggregate of 1872, 600 men.
The army Of Mexico is organized in a .
method analogous to that of France. 1t
is in four divisions, each under the COM
mand of a general of division, a rank that
corresponds TO that of major general in
the American service, the highest grade
that can be attained in the Mexican army
Some of the best known generals of divis-
ion are POrfiriO Diaz president of the re-
public; Mariana EscObedo, the conquerOr
of Macmillan: Ramon Coroua, Felipe B.
BerriOzabal, SOstenes ROcha, Pedro Hin
OjOsa, the minister of war; Manuel Con
ZaleZ, eX-president; Geronimo Trevino,
Jose JustO Alvarez, Ignacio Antiillon, and
dozen of others, more or less. Some
of these general officers, such as Sostenes
ROcha, lose Justo Alvarez and Ignacio
AntillOn, are graduates of the Chapulte-
pee National Military academy, while the
others attained their rank through long
continued and distinguished services.
Escobedo is now on the retired list, and Co
roma Gonzales are not on verycordial terms
with the present government. PorfGrio
Diaz is by far the most brilliant and sue
cessful commander that his country can
boast of. He is a revOlutionist by profess
sion and prediction, and somewhat of q
tyrant by nature. Some of his operations
in and around the City of Puebla during
the last days of Maximilian's reign were
of such a character, although on a smaller
scale, as to entitle them to be compared
with those of Bonapartes first Italian
campaign.-New York Herald.
CT.